Overland Boy
by venomoxide
Summary: This is a short, angsty song-fic that features Jack remember more, detailed memories of his past. Written to fit the song 'Oh, Danny Boy.' There is death and mature themes.


_Oh, Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling._  
_From glen to glen, and down the mountain side._

_The summer's gone, and all the flowers are dying._  
_It's you, it's you must go and I must bide._

"Jackson...? Jackson? Jack!" The gentle voice riled him from his sleep, jolting upright with a somewhat confused expression. Sleepy brown eyes were greeted by the lightly speckled face, lined with freckles and beauty marks. It was Caroline. He could see a bit of dirt on her face, which surprised him, considering she was wearing her best dress. He flashed her a brilliant grin, though he was still half-asleep.

"Hey..." He drawled, his voice tired, yet content. Her lips turned up in a tiny smile, her hand finding his as she shook her head.

"It's almost time for the Autumn Festival, silly!"

A slightly displeased sigh left his lips. He was warm and she looked beautiful and he just wanted to wrap his arms around her and lie here for awhile...

"Can't we just stay here?" It was a hopeful question, met with a slightly unimpressed look. Her hand moved up, brushing against his cheek in a way that made his heart flutter. She shook her head, leaning in a bit closer as she smiled.

"You promised Emma a dance, remember? What kind of a brother would you be if you let her down?" To further convince him, she pressed a gentle kiss to his lips, amused when his cheeks flushed a bright red.

And so he grudgingly moved from his spot in his room, sliding into his best clothes and (grudgingly) put on shoes, walking towards the sound of music with his hand entwined with Caroline's.

_But come ye back when summer's in the meadow._  
_Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow._

Jackson stared at his reflection in the mirror, brown eyes studying his face. What did Caroline see in him? He was just... a boy. All things considered, she was just a girl. But they often talked about the day they could run away together. They would ride the rivers and travel the mountains... And Jack couldn't believe she wanted to do all that with him.

So he had to make sure she would stay his.

Tonight, he planned to ask for her hand in marriage. It was around the time that the other boys in Burgess were to start finding wives and he felt he was ready. He wanted a family... He wanted to grow old with her and have adventures and embark on the journey of life, with her hand in his.

Taking in a deep breath, he let his gaze fall to the dresser beneath him. He had written her a note that he would give her after he had asked the question. It explained how he had felt his entire life, as he had grown up with her in their tiny little town. But first, he had to take his sister Emma out to skate. Winter had just gotten here, verging on the edge of cold and slightly warm. He was certain the lake was safe enough for them to go for a quick skate, though.

"Emma! Are you ready?" He called for the brown haired girl, already grinning with excitement. Tonight, he would hopefully get the girl of his dreams...

_I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow._  
_Oh, Danny boy, oh, Danny boy, I love you so._

Caroline's eyes were sore, puffy with the curse of crying. Her heart was aching, still unable to cope with what had happened. In fact, at first, she had refused to believe it. There was no way...

Jackson was dead.

He had drowned in the lake after he had saved Emma. And as terrible as it sounded, Caroline felt angry with the little girl. Jackson would do anything for her – even if it meant risking his life. But she knew it was only because she was angry with everything. Angry and upset and numb and she couldn't stop crying, the tears cascading down her flushed cheeks like a constant reminder of how cold she was.

She walked to the window, her eyes studying the snowfall with disdain. It was so... beautiful. And only a day after Jackson's death? It was like a cruel joke. How could the town be painted with such gorgeous snow, when everyone meant to mourn the loss of...

Her thoughts were distracted, pulled away by the sight of a note lying on his pillow. With shaking hands, she picked it up, hesitating before she began to open it. Quietly unfolding it, she began to read the note, a hand covering her mouth in shock.

_Dearest Caroline...  
Wow, that sounds quite... formal, hey? I suppose you already know why I'm giving you this. It's because even though I've already asked you to marry me, and you've hopefully given me the answer I want to hear... I can't express my feelings for you to your face._

_I know, surprising, right? I'm never afraid of anything. Anything but losing you. _

_The first time I saw you, I knew I was going to marry you. Or, at least, I liked to think that's how things were going to work out. You made me feel like I was worth something. Like I had something to protect and a dream to look forward too._

_I want to spend the rest of my life with you. _

_Love always,_

_Jackson Overland Frost_

Caroline's hand flew behind her, searching for a chair for her to collapse into. She couldn't breathe, for her crying had taken over, reducing her to a silent mess of sobs that wracked her tired frame. Unable to think through her emotions, she grabbed the nearest vase, throwing it across the room with an ear-splitting scream, cursing the heavens.

_But if you come, when all the flowers are dying,_  
_And I am dead, as dead I well may be,_

Every day, Caroline wrote a note to Jackson. It didn't matter what it was about, but she refused to believe that he was gone forever. It was childish, they told her. It was stupid. Wrong. Disrespectful. But she didn't care.

Every day, she would walk down to the lake, past the few trees and place the note beside his grave. For the first few years, there were flowers there, wreaths and memories. But eventually, the only thing that remained for Jackson was the notes. To begin with, the town had decided to light candles every year, to honour the bravery of the Overland boy. Soon enough though, the candles were forgotten and so was Jackson. He was just a ghost of a memory. The sad story of a boy who's fate was signed.

Eventually, Caroline grew older. She married someone else and had a family, though her heart would never recover from the pain of losing someone so dear to her.

_You'll come and find the place where I am lying,_  
_And kneel and say an "ave" there for me._

The first time he had been given access to his memories, Jack had only been given a few, the most important ones to him at the time. But he had gone back, asking Tooth if there was a way to see more of his past life. Though she had hesitated at first, eventually, she relented.

Jack had spent an entire two days working through his memories. Sometimes, he would have to stop, his emotions taking over his rational mind, forcing him to fly away so he could scream and cry and destroy things.

And now, he found himself staring down at her name. A name that had so lovingly passed his lips a thousand times.

_Caroline Winslow. _

"_Find me in the snow, my love, beneath the moon so bright."_

Azure eyes had scanned that quote a thousand times, tears watering in his lower eyelid, clinging to his lashes for a moment before they froze. She had waited for him. The stone was cracked and faded and there was no way he could fix it, but it was still standing... As if she wouldn't even let her gravestone disintegrate without Jack saying goodbye.

And so he knelt, quiet sobs pulling in his chest, and he pressed a kiss to the freezing stone, fingers clinging to the only thing left of her.

"Goodbye, Caroline..." He managed to choke the words out, finding it hard to breathe. He didn't know how long he stayed there, clinging to that cold slab of stone, but by the time North had come looking, it had been covered in a delicate pattern of frost... Something worthy of the girl who stole his heart those three hundred years ago.

_And I will know, though soft you tread above me,__  
__And then my grave will richer, sweeter be.__  
__And you'll bend down and tell me that you love me,__  
__And I will rest in peace until you come to me._


End file.
